Politics may sour big building plans: ALP

THE federal government insists it is trying to strengthen Infrastructure Australia (IA) amid criticism that political interference on national road and rail funding could result in billions being wasted on big projects.

Infrastructure Australia, the body overseeing Australia's future needs for roads, rail, ports and bridges, was set up in 2008 to give independent advice.

But IA head Michael Deegan has warned the Abbott government wants to introduce a swath of new changes, which he says would see massive projects planned and built without appropriate scrutiny.

Labor's transport spokesman, Anthony Albanese, said on Friday the government was trying to gut the IA body and destroy its independence.

Mr Albanese called on the government to scrap the proposed changes, saying it's vital to have large infrastructure decisions based on a detailed cost-benefit analysis at arms-length of government.

"It's important that funding go where the benefit is," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"It's a return to the days whereby political decisions will be made rather than decisions being made on the basis of productivity and economic benefit."

However, Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss says comments about the proposed changes reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of the government's policy which was designed to strengthen the independence of IA, not restrict it.

"Under the coalition's plan, Infrastructure Australia will have an independent board with a chief executive officer answerable to the board - not a co-ordinator answerable to the minister," Mr Truss said in a statement.

Mr Albanese said the Australian Greens had shown how they don't like roads and the coalition was anti-rail in a sign of how politics could get in the way of big transport decisions.

"Too often our cities have suffered from housing being built without looking at transport connections, without looking at jobs, without looking at economic opportunities," he said.

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